Presenting the winners of the “Brand Yourself” contest!

In the “Brand Yourself” Contest, we asked 99designs users to create their own personal logos. The response was epic! Over 500 designers participated in the contest and submitted drafts of their self-made branding.

I got the chance to work with most of these designers on their logos — so I want to give a huge hand to everyone who participated! The amount of amazing entries made it no picnic to choose a winner. But luckily, everyone in the contest won in a way, coming out with at the very least a start to their personal logo.

The three winners were selected on two criteria: An explanation of what they were hoping to achieve with the design, and how well the design shows off that goal in a well-executed form. So without further ado…

“The nickname came from my name. My name is Milos (Miloš read Milosh) and most people in Serbia call me Misa (Miša — read Misha). In the Serbian language, Mis (Miš – Mish) is the word for mouse, so you can translate Misa into something a little “mousy,” but not literally 🙂

For my logo — I started working in design in the summer of 2011, with no knowledge of Illustrator or Photoshop, but had some experience with drawing.

I was reading some of your (99designs) blog posts on the web and found it interesting when designers use negative space in logos. So one day, I took my pen and started drawing simple geometric objects and here is the result :)”

“‘Asamanis’ taken from ‘asam,’ which mean sour or a taste of lemonade, and “manis” which means sweet. I’m always making every logo design turn from sour into sweet.

When I think sweet and sour, I associate it with oranges, which are fresh, sweet and a bit sour.

This is an orange shaped “Ninja,” which is well known as an assassin or dark warrior. They often attack their victim from a hidden place and also attack their victims straight to the vital organs. So, why did I use a ninja in my logo? Because I love logos with “HIDDEN MESSAGES” but are “STRAIGHT TO THE POINT” and also I often make designs at night — because of our timezone 🙂 ”

“This is the name of my local company in my ‘little’ town: Aprilia Home Design. My logo is formed from the ‘A’ for Aprilia and simple home and pencil imagery, representing both home design and graphic design.”

“This new logo and name represents something I believe in which is, every naturally talented, genius artist is a little bit schizophrenic. I have to let each project control my personality to serve it better and, most importantly, to serve the client’s needs and taste. And I quote ‘I used to be schizophrenic but we are ok now.’ – Anonymous :)”

“The ‘lime fruit’ represents freshness, with bright yellow and black for strong contrast and to make it easily spotted even at a small size. The 8 slices also have an importance as reference to Buddhism for me.

The name is a play with my initials, and I wanted them to be a bit quirky, with character. But they also had to be balanced with some stricter elements, so the rounded D stands for design. I think that my intentions are captured with the wordplay.

Overall, my goal was to create something that has a lot of personality and character but shows attention to details that will make the components work in different situations. The lime fruit will be used both as a symbol/avatar, and as a pattern when needed. As I work a lot with graphic prints in my artwork, I’d like the logo to represent that part of my artwork as well.”

“It all starts back probably 2 years ago. We had an art class and in that class our teacher made us do logo designs for a local logo contest.

I wasn’t the greatest at computers at that time, I mostly drew and painted the old fashioned way. I used water coloring to make sketches, letting the sketches dry and scanning them. Then, I slowly tried to learn how to use the pen tool in illustrator and created the first draft of this logo. I actually ended up winning the contest and the logo got printed on 1000 sports water bottles and towels. The feeling was amazing, to actually see my logo in use, my first logo I ever created. That’s the way I got into design.

Soon, I also found this site and entered a couple of contests. I ended up winning on my second logo submitted and the feeling was unbelievable. My logo today represent my past. The 2 drops is a hidden meaning of my 2 first real logos I created. It also represents me beginning with water color and moving on to vector graphics. And of course the O as the first letter of my name.”

“Before creating this logo, I thought I had my own branding figured out. Boy was I wrong. My first self-branding logo consisted of things that I thought looked good and blended well together.

It wasn’t until participating in this contest that I had another pair of eyes bring up new ideas and feedback, which helped me see things I had not originally thought of. I was too focused on what might look appealing rather than the meaning behind it. We were able to toss ideas around that not only worked visually but also represented who I am as a designer.

The design community and fads are constantly changing and you need to brand yourself to reflect that you are changing with it. I went for a cleaner logo that utilized more of a classic feel with newer ideas. I now feel that my current branding will hold the test of time and it shows where I have progressed.”

“This is my signature that I’ve been using as long as I can remember, my old initials MS (Marta Smolic) before changing my surname after getting married. I left it unchanged as it represents me, the designer, also to remember how and why I started designing.

I love black and white logos, with a hand drawn element, as I often hand draw elements for designing and make them into vectors. It represents how I work.”

“Back when I first decided to use the name ‘mase’ I found this: ‘maze origin: 1250–1300; Middle English mase — noun use of aphetic variant of amasen to amaze.’ There is a definite link between “maze” and “mase” so I conjured up this fresh concept 🙂

The main concept is of course the ‘M.A.S.E’ letterform design. My ‘mase maze’ has three successful paths starting from the ‘M’, two of which take a little longer than the other to complete. So regardless how many obstacles, dead ends, or set backs I may encounter, I aspire to head down the correct path to a successfully completed design project’. ‘A customased passage to success'”

With so many great designs, we couldn’t stop at just 16. Here are even more from the collection:

“The logo mark for Eday Inc. is inspired by my interest for geometry, perspectives and the love for colors. The logo style falls some where between hip, pop and retro modernism.

The mark itself is a perspective geometric expression which combine the letter E and I to form a timeless, yet simple mark which can relate to my style. Eday (E’day) is a nickname given by friends long time back which ended up being my brand name as well. Inc is included since I love collaborating with different artists. Eday Inc. focus on branding, graphic design, apparel design and more.”

“The name ‘shon_m’ comes from the names of my little nieces. Behind the design for ‘shon_m’ is my sister and I; she is mostly ‘the brain’ and I’m the artistic part of the work. We have been very connected since we were little kids.”

“I created a logo that has a lot of color and meaning. The colors symbolize light. The red is expansive, dominant, active and vital. Yellow is representative of light, momentum and impressiveness. Blue is the nature of the infinite and transcendental, and possesses a challenge. Green balances and harmonizes, evoking a serenity and a place to collect new force. Lastly, purple means graceful.

The angular shape of the letter represents movement and expansion — excitement.

With this logo, what I wanted to achieve was a pleasure in creating not just for the money but to be creative, imaginative, and happy with what I’m doing.”

“The general idea is to combine the design of aspects my work and my personality. The logo represents me as a joyful, humorous, smiley person and one to always share my good vibes. I want to bring a positive influence to people’s lives and make a big difference when it comes to sharing and inspiring other creatives.

As I started analyzing my personal branding, my ideas all came from an aim to express positivity. I’m inspired to create a pose that creates joy. It’s also inspired by my favorite animation movie Kungfu Panda.

Super-duper is an expression using a rhyming duplication of the adjectives, meaning “very good.” Super-duper is used informally, and often sarcastically, to mean “Oh great, wow, that’s terrific!” Super Duper is basically like saying, awesome, cool, super.

“As for my logo and brand identity, I love a projecting (and matching) a professional presence, semi-minimalism, and strong colors, with a wealth of meaning and purpose. That is what the foundation underneath the 4FrontDesign logo/brand is.

First of all, the name 4FrontDesign speaks strongly for itself. We are at the forefront of the design world, pushing boundaries and influencing change in the way design is approached and perceived. We aim to be our client’s #1 ally, fighting side-by-side with them on the front lines of their creative endeavors and ventures. As our tagline says, “Construct the Frontline, Create the Future.”… That is what we do for our clients and the design world in general. Every design has a purpose and that is what we work to realize on a day-to-day basis.

The icon of the logo itself is also very symbolic, similar to the “US Army Sergeant” rank badge, showing that although we like to be free-flowing and unique in the work we do, we also take it seriously (because our ultimate goal is to help our clients succeed in whatever they do creatively and strategically).

Also, the icon shows that it is not only symbolic of a “rank” but also an intricate structure in itself being built, representative of any company, individual or organization beginning, expanding, embarking on different marketing campaigns or rebranding. Each level of the icon also represents our design process as well as the services we offer.”

“I took from my name ‘yoyok,’ and initially I made y2k as my id. I chose to replace the number 2 with ‘Z’ that I took from the initials of my wife because I wanted to be with her and as a token of my gratitude for her prayers that always accompany me – even during my time at 99designs.”

“DYLOVASTUFF is the name of my brand, established in 2003. The name is derived from the combination of my name and that of my ex girlfriend: DYAH & AGUS. So, ‘Dyah LOVE Agus’ = DYLOVA. My designer name is also the name I use for a small studio in printing, clothing, and designs.

For this logotype I created the typeface, developing it into a full font that I’m selling!

I love typography. The icon is based on the story, that Dyah loves Agus. The line around the heart represents unity – showing that our love is strong like a shield (which is also looks like). It represents caring and giving, and long life.”

“I have always used my name to stand out in a crowd. It is spelled uniquely because I didn’t want to be a boring ole katie when i was young. Back in the day I painted watercolor paintings of fairies (under the name art by kayti), and was a pretty successful fairy artist until the economy tanked and nobody wanted to collect art anymore. I had to go back to a ‘real’ job and leave the life of an artist behind. Until I found graphic design, and I realized that even functional design could be artistic.

This logo represents to me – my personal creative soul and every bit of my style. The wings on the K has a double meaning, a tribute to my fairies of yore, as well as the idea of finding the creative wings needed to fly again after I lost my brush. Cheesy I know, but it means something to me. I am incredibly passionate about giving my clients something unique and iconic – so their brand will find their own personal wings. I think it shows that functionality can also be stylish , and that its important to represent your own style.

The colors I chose are colors I love, the pop of pink against an eggplant purple. I just like how it looks there is nothing too significant in their choice. It looks nice on my business cards and website :)”

“My logo represents my personal challenge. To design one logo a day, offer it for sale through a stock logo site, and to cash up after a year — and see if it’s worth it. The concept of my logo combines a calendar icon and a pencil to represent the creativity demanded by this challenge.”

“In a past community contest, I created an illustration that was very dear and personal to me. I decided after that contest was over, to represent this illustration as my brand because it helps others visualize who bashango is. bashango is art, and I wanted to reflect that message in my brand.

If a client were to just look at my icon, I feel that they would be able to identify my skills as an illustrator and designer. The branches represent me growing as a digital designer. In the past, my logo was simply a word mark. I am now inspired to evolve my new logo into a personal reflection of who I am – in illustration form.”

HUGE thanks to all of the designers who participated in this contest together — you’re all amazing!

Still not enough? We’ve created a Pinterest board for personal logos done at 99designs, and we’ll be posting even more entries from the contest over the next couple of months.

We encourage you to all take a look at your fellow designers’ work and tell them why you think it is so awesome. Take a look through some of the entries: Personal Branding at 99!

The author

Kaitlyn is part of the Community Team at 99designs.com. She grew up in Boulder, CO and went to school at Northwestern University in Chicago. When she's not blogging, she spends her time having adventures and being generally creative. She's all about having new experiences as often as possible!